Wait
by XxKarissaShayexX
Summary: Futurefic: What happens when Casey suddenly decides to move from her nice apartment in Ottawa into her old house in London that she once lived in as a teenager? Some angst. Dasey. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

Okay!! So, I have officially decided to do a futurefic. I am going to try and make this darn thing work. I've got some ideas in my head and I'd gladly appreciate it if you guys reviewed. It makes me very happy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek. -sniff-

--

Casey packed her bags in silence. She was going back home to visit her mother and everyone else in the merged family. She hadn't been there since Christmas, making that almost half a year since she had seen them. Her flight was leaving in about 4 hours and she was almost done packing.

When she finished the packing, she stuffed everything in her car and took off towards the airport, arriving there in a matter of minutes. She went through all the lines and lanes and security checks, finally boarding the plane and waiting in silence for the lady at the front, who was reciting the saftey precautions, to finish.

The plane took off and the little sign at the front of plane pinged, signally her that she may remove her seatbelt and walk around the cabin if necessary. Casey removed her seatbelt, seeing as it was pretty uncomfortable, and pulled out her new book and went on with reading it, trying to ignore the insisting, little demon-child next her that kept tugging at her sleave, asking if she would sing Barney and Friends' 'I Love You' with him.

Casey was getting ready to tell the mother - who was sitting in the seat beside the little kid, reading a Seventeen magazine - that she needed to put the darn magazine down and control her kid. Why was the lady reading Seventeen, anyways? Anyone could tell that she was in her late thirties. No need for Seventeen, woman!

Of course, Casey wasn't exactly seventeen either. She was 23, almost 24. Casey sighed in exasperation and tried to concentrate on her book. Her mind, however, seemed to keep floating back to who she was going to see once her flight landed. She was nervous about seeing everyone and couldn't figure out why. She'd get like this every time: nervous and couldn't understand why.

The flight was pretty short and she soon landed and got off of the plane, heading to the gates where her mother would be to pick her up. Casey walked through the gates and was surprised to not see her mother, but her step-brother, Derek, waiting for her. She covered her surprised expression quickly and walked towards him.

"Derek," She stated calmly.

"Space Case," He said. He had never outgrown the nicknames he had for her

They headed to go get Casey's baggage without another word. Silence had been a reoccuring theme lately. They still got into heated arguments every now and then, though.

They reached the baggage claim and Casey found her bags. She picked both of them up and instantly forgot how heavy they were. She tried walking after Derek with them, but sadly failed. Casey dropped her bags to the ground with a huff.

Derek turned and sighed, shaking his head, saying, "Same old Casey." He picked up her bags and beckoned her to follow him to the car.

Upon reaching his car, he loaded up the bags in the trunk and unlocked the car doors, both climbing in. They sat in mostly silence as Derek drove home. At some point, Derek glanced at her then back to the road ahead of them.

"So, how have you been?" He asked casually.

"I've been fine, I guess. You?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, I'm still the same old me," He said, getting off of an exit that eventually led to the street with Nora and George's house. Casey rolled her eyes at him, thinking, _'Yeah, same old Derek.'_ They pulled into the driveway and Derek retrieved her bags out of the trunk, then taking them inside and dropping them by the stairs.

When Casey walked inside, her mother's face stretched into a big smile and she ran over to hug her.

"Casey, hey, honey. Oh, I've missed you. How have you been?" She asked in a hurry.

"I've been good, Mom. I've missed you, too," Casey said, hearing footsteps from upstairs. Soon, at the top of the steps, Marti, Lizzie, and Edwin appeared and all smiled down at her, racing down the stairs.

"Casey!" Lizzie and Marti screached at the same time, colliding with Casey in a giant hug.

"Hey, Case," Edwin said, giving her a hug after Lizzie and Marti had been pried from Casey's body. Derek shot them all a jealous glance and then looked at Casey in mock-hurt.

"Where's my hug?" He asked. He had changed quite a bit since they were teenagers. He wasn't as big of a jerk, anymore, and he actually wanted hugs now. Casey glared him down.

"Why should I hug you?" She questioned.

"Why shouldn't you hug me?" He shot back, stepping in front of her.

"Because."

"Because, why?"

"De-_rek_!!" Okay, so, fighting was still a big part of their routine whenever they saw each other. But, there seemed to be a little more tention between them. More tention than when they were younger, at least.

Derek smirked down at Casey as the others covered their ears and flinched at the familiar yell.

Casey continued glaring, then huffed, saying, "Fine." Derek smiled a little and they hugged, both feeling a little awkward. They stepped away from each other, still feeling awkward, and Casey stared at the ground, while Derek stared at the ceiling.

Casey could hear George's chuckling coming from the kitchen. He soon appeared and walked over to Casey, giving her a hug.

"You guys never change," He said, shaking his head. "Well, except, now Derek actually lets you hug him." He said, his eyebrows pulling together as he looked at Derek questioningly. He turned back to Casey and asked, "How are you, Casey?"

"I'm pretty good, George. How are you?" She smiled at him.

"I'm still the same," He said, chuckling slightly.

"That's great," Casey smiled in return.

"So, Casey, let's get your bags upstairs, alright?" Nora said.

"Sure, I head to the guest room. I still can't believe you changed my room into a guest bedroom," Casey said with a huff, trying to pick up her suitcases and carry them up the stairs.

"Honey, you left, what else were we suppose to do? It's not like you're going to live here, right?" Nora asked. Casey tripped on a step, sending her and the suitcases tumbling towards the landing. She landed with an _oof_.

"Ugg, can someone help me get these darn bags upstairs?" Casey asked, getting up and rubbing her behind, sore from just falling on it.

"Derek, help Casey get those upstairs," George said, then walked back to the kitchen. Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti stood off to the side, trying very hard not to laugh at Casey's falling. Derek huffed in reply and grabbed the bags, trudging up the stairs with Casey in tow.

Derek pushed open the door with his foot and set the bags down by the bed, sighing and laying down on the bed.

"Why do you have to pack so many things? So many things that make the suitcase so heavy that you can barely lift it, much less carry it up a whole flight of stairs," Derek sighed and closed his eyes, liking the feel of the bed.

"Yeah, okay. Now get off my bed," Casey said, plopping down on it, near Derek's feet.

"What, no thanks?" Derek asked, not moving from his spot on her bed. She hit his leg with her hand, letting it rest there afterwards.

"Can you just get off my bed?" Casey asked sternly.

"Wow, that's the first time I've heard that coming from a girl. Seriously," He said, chuckling and still not moving. Casey's hand tightened around Derek's leg.

"Get. Off," She said sternly.

"Do I have to? It's so nice here. Can't we just lay here and not go anywhere else, ever?" He whined, then froze, thinking about what he just said and how odd it sounded. Casey's hand untightened and she sighed, leaning back on her hands. Casey let her head drop back to see an upside-down Derek.

"Please?" She asked and his eyes shot open, staring at her in surprise. His eyebrows rose and she immediately regretted saying that.

"Did Casey McDonald just say please? To _me_?" Derek asked, pointing at himself in mock-disbelief, rasing his head a little off the pillow. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't get use to it," She states plainly.

"Get use to what?" And now he was playing games. She leaned her weight on one hand and with the other she punched his thigh.

"You know what," Casey said, returning back to her position. Derek moved a little closer towards her, eyeing her in what she thought was a creepy and mischevious way. He reached out and grabbed her hand that she just punched him with. He pulled the hand - Casey retreated to holding herself up with just her one hand - over to where she punched him, keeping her hand there with his. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Get use to this?" Derek whispered and Casey's breath caught, looking at him like he's gone mad. She jerked her hand away and looked at the wall to her right, leaving Derek to stare at her hair.

"Get off," She whispered, less force in her voice than before. Casey felt a tug at her hair and looked over to see Derek playing with it like a cat.

"Why?" He asked, still whispering.

"What do you mean why?" She hissed at him.

"Why do you want me to leave?" He asked, looking up into her blue eyes.

She stuttered a little, "I-I, well, I don't know." She looked away from him and back at the wall to the right. He continued with playing with her hair.

"You have really long hair," He commented and she rolled her eyes.

"It's been long since you first met me, Derek," She said matter-of-factly.

"It smells like vanilla," He said.

"It's called vanilla shampoo, Derek. And why are you even smelling my hair? Better yet, why are you touching my hair?" She asked, not moving. He continued to mess with her hair.

"You're not stopping me from touching your hair, are you?" Derek said, trying to look at her face. She turned her head away even more.

"It feels nice. I like it when people play with my hair like that," She stated, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, and I like vanilla. It works out for both of us, huh?" He stated, leaning forward to take in the vanilla scent again. Casey froze, then relaxed when he pulled away. There was a sudden knock on the door that made both, Casey and Derek, jump up off the bed.

"Casey?" Lizzie's voice called through the door.

"Yeah, Lizzie?" Casey asked, a little nervous.

"Dinner's ready," She replied and when Casey heard Lizzie's retreating footsteps, she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

Casey looked over at Derek, signalling him that they should head down. They headed down the stairs and into the dining room, taking their seats that they once sat in as teenagers. Casey's head flooded with memories of those times. The food, the talking, the smiles, the laughter...the constant bickering with Derek.

"So, Casey, how have you been in the past six months? Anything new going on? Maybe a new boyfriend, huh?" Nora asked Casey once everyone had gotten their food and started eating. Casey sent a glare at Derek when he scoffed at the last question from Nora. Casey turned back to her mother and smiled innocently.

"Actually, Mom, no boyfriend, but my life has been great. I'm still teaching middle school kids. They're great, really. They just got out for summer break, as you know. My life really hasn't changed that much," Casey replied, shrugging.

"Well, honey, I'm happy for you," Nora smiled at her eldest daughter.

"Casey, I don't understand why you didn't come and teach here and at my school," Marti (who was now 14 and had grown quite a bit) asked sadly from across the table.

"Oh, Marti, I would have loved to come and teach here in London, but I just love Ottawa, you know?" Casey looked her sad step-sister, suddenly wishing she hadn't moved to Ottawa to teach there and stayed in London to teach at Marti's school.

"Yeah, I know," She said, slouching in her chair somewhat.

"You know," Casey said, taking a sip of her drink before continuing. "I've been thinking of moving back here and teaching. I just need to find an apartment and such."

"Really?!" Marti looked suddenly happier when she heard Casey's news.

"Honey, are you sure about that?" Nora asked, looking concern in Casey's choice, making sure that it was really what Casey wanted. Casey nodded at her mother.

"Yeah, Mom. I've been really thinking about it lately."

"Well, no need to find an apartment before moving. You can move in here and then look for an apartment. We don't mind, do we, George?" Nora looked over at George waiting for a response.

"Yeah. Casey's welcome to stay here, however long it takes her to find an apartment," George replied, smiling. Casey looked over at her younger sister who was looking at Casey in happiness and utter surprise.

"You're really moving back, Case?" Lizzie asked.

"Yeah, I really am," Casey replied, giving Lizzie a short hug.

"That's awesome, Case," Casey heard Edwin say from the other side of the table and she turned to him and gave him a smile.

"You really thi-"

"Can I be excused?" Everyone at the table turned and focused their attention on the person who had interupted Casey. Derek. George's eyebrowed furrowed in confusion.

"Uhh, I guess so," George replied and Derek darted from the table and scurried up the stairs. The sound of a door closing upstairs echoed through the house, followed by an eerie, heavy silence.

Casey stared down at her plate. _What is up with Derek?_ She thought to herself. She huffed and frustration and continued pushing her food around her plate.

--

Well, I don't know. Do you think I should continue? -shrugs- I'm truly not sure if I should or not. I'm not great with futurefics. I've tried to write them and I've sadly failed. Well, please review. I love all my reviewers and I gladly appreciate the reviews! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

So, I'm trying to get my butt rollin' with this story. I've been bugging myself to write a futurefic because I just...really want to. I am going to try and get into this story and hope it doesn't become a flop. Well, I'm happy for the reviews I've recieved. Thank you, everyone! Let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek. -sniff-

--

Casey trudged down the hall to her bedroom, feeling very content with the amount that she had eaten - which actually hadn't been much at all. She sighed when she came to her door, opened it, and - with her other hand - rubbed both of her eyes.

She sighed once more and turned around to shut the door, slumping against it afterwards. She banged her head against the door, trying to get rid of her headache.

"God, I'm so tired," She said to the door, then realized that she was talking to an inanimate object. She laughed and said out loud, feeling very foolish, "Great, now I'm talking to inanimate objects." She paused, then laughed again and said, "And now I'm talking to myself. Wonderful!"

"I always knew you were looney." Casey jumped at the familiar voice behind her. She turned around to be faced with Derek, who was laying very comfortably on her bed, looking at her with a smirk and one eyebrow cocked in amusement. She put a hand over her heart and let out a sigh.

"God, Derek. Don't scare me like that," She said, walking over to her bed and plopping down. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked over at him. "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, you didn't hear? They totally turned my bedroom into an office for George. There's not a bed in there, anymore. I have to sleep in here, like I have the past 4 months," He said, closing his eyes and pretending to snore.

Casey leaned over and hit his stomach. This caused his eyes to snap open and stare at her, rubbing his stomach with one hand. He pouted a little.

"That hurt," He whined.

"Yeah, I know that they didn't turn your bedroom into an office. Why are you really in here?" She asked, slipping off her shoes and sitting all the way on her bed, facing Derek. He looked away from her and stared up at the ceiling intently. He was silent for a couple of minutes.

"Are you really moving back here?" He asked finally, turning back to look her in the eye, stretching his arms out and putting them behind his head. Casey was taken aback by Derek's question and how serious he sounded and looked.

"Yeah," She said, breaking Derek's gaze to stare at the quilt on the queen, guest bed.

"Why?" He asked. She could still feel his eyes on her, trying to catch her own eyes. She looked at the wall the bed was up against, trying not to look him in the eye, fearing it would make her suddenly nervous without any explanation.

"Because I just want to," She said. "I've missed it here. I've missed everyone," She said, then turned to finally look Derek in the eye. "I've missed Mom, George, Marti, Edwin, Lizzie," She trailed off.

"You forgot me," He said, his eyebrows pulling together.

"How do you know I've missed you?" She said, trying to make her voice sound light, but it gave away that she really had missed him. She had missed him a lot. More than she would have expected to and more than she really should.

"Oh, you do miss me. You can't stand not seeing me every day. It just bugs you, huh?" He said, smirking at her. She rolled her eyes at his large ego. She didn't want to tell him the truth and make his ego any larger.

"Yeah, whatever, Derek. Think what you want. Wait, I forgot. You don't think," She said, smirking at Derek's fallen expression and narrowed eyes.

"I do to think," He argued.

"Oh, yeah? About what? Hockey? Food? Girls? Se-"

"One girl," He said, his eyes narrowing at her dangerously, his expression falling even more into a scowl. Her expression dropped at his response and they stared at each other for a long while, the silence growing heavy and almost unbearable.

"Why are you in here?" She whispered, not breaking eye-contact. She couldn't. It was like she was in a trance.

"Because I just want to," He whispered in reply, using her own words on her.

"Why?" She asked in surprise to his answer.

"Like I said, because I just want to."

"Well, it's my room. Maybe you should leave," She challanged.

"Actually, Casey, this is the guest room, not your room. I can stay in here if I want to," He said, his smirk finally returning to his face and his eyes adjusted back to the ceiling. Casey's eyes narrowed at him and she leaned forward to hiss a response.

"I have to sleep in this bed, you know."

"Oh, I know," He said, his smirk growing as he looked back at her.

"Then, why aren't you leaving so I can sleep?" She asked, sounding frustrated. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"So, for you to be able to sleep, I have to leave? That's harsh. You can't even sleep in the same room as me?" He challanged.

"They really turned your old room in an office, didn't they?" Casey whined in realization.

"Yeah, and I've been staying in here every night, and then you come and try to kick me out. I should be the one kicking you out. You're lucky that I will actually allow you to sleep in the same room, much less the same bed, as me," He said. Casey rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Excuse me, but you're sleeping on the floor," She said, pointing to the hard floor. Derek scoffed at her and turned his attention back to the ceiling.

"Uhh, I don't think so. You can sleep on the floor, though, if you want," He smirked even bigger at the image of her, Casey McDonald, sleeping on the floor.

"You're kidding. I am so not sleeping on the floor," She scoffed at him and cringed at the thought of sleeping on the hard ground.

"Princess," Derek mumbled in response, receiving a smack on the leg.

"Are we back to hitting my leg?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her and remembering earlier events, mentally smacking himself on the head for what he did. Casey looked away from his gaze, a light blush rising in her cheeks as she let out a huff in frustration.

"Okay, you sleep on the couch," She said, still frustrated.

"Uhh, how about no?"

"Yes."

"No."

"_Yes_."

"_No_!"

"I said yes!"

"Well, I said no!"

"Get off!" She said, trying to push him off the bed.

"No," He said, grabbing her wrists, trying to make her stop shoving him.

"Let go," She said, pulling at her wrists. Derek gripped harder, moved from his position, and pinned her down on the bed. He got really close to her face, his eyes narrowing at her. Casey's breath caught and her eyes widened.

"No," He hissed.

"Yes," She hissed back, her eyes now narrowing.

"No."

"_Yes_."

"_No_."

"_Yes_!"

"Say it," He said forcefully. Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Say what?" She asked in thorough confusion.

"Say, 'Oh, Derek, oh Derek. You are the master. I will bow down to you and grant your every wish if you release me'," He said. Her eyes narrowed even more at him.

"I will never say that," She hissed.

"Why not?" He asked, moving a little closer, his face suddenly turning serious. She could feel his warm breath on her face and her eyes grew wide.

"Derek? What are you doing? What do you mean 'why not'? _What_ are you _doing_?" She asked in panic as he grew closer, their noses mere millimeters from touching.

He pulled back abruptly, like she had bit him. "Nothing," He whispered, sitting up on the edge of the bed. Casey stayed in her place, shocked by Derek's actions and words. She glanced over at him, her breath coming and going in short takes, then looked back up at the ceiling.

Derek sighed and hit the side of his head, muttering something to himself. He got up and walked over to the dresser and pulled out a shirt and pajama pants that appeared to be his. He stripped of his shirt and pulled the other one on. When he was about to take off his pants, Casey sat up abruptly, staring at him like he'd gone mad.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sounding scared. He sighed and rolled his eyes, looking over at her.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Changing," He said, going back to undoing his pants.

"But, why?!" She asked, still sounding scared. He rolled his eyes and stopped unzipping his pants, looking over at her in annoyance.

"I'm not going to sleep in this," He said, looking down at his jeans.

"Why not? It looks perfectly fine to sleep in. No need to take off your pants, Derek," She exclaimed.

"Casey, I'm not going to sleep in my jeans, okay? It's not like you've never seen me in my boxers before. Gosh, stop being a drama queen," He sighed and went back to unzipping his jeans. Casey layed back down and covered her eyes with one hand as Derek proceded in pulling off his pants and putting on his pajama ones.

He chuckled at Casey, "Casey, you can remove your hand now. I have my pants on."

"Are you sure?" She asked, sounding unsure.

"Casey, did you really just asked me if I was sure that I had pants on?" He asked in disbelief, sitting down on the bed that he decided he was going to sleep on. She removed her hand from her face and looked over at him, letting out a sigh that he was dressed, then tightening up when she saw him fluffing the pillow.

"Oh, no. You are not sleeping here. I thought we had this discusion already," She said, sitting up.

"Uhh, actually Casey, we never really finished the 'discussion'. We got sort of side-tracked. Remember?" He asked, looking of at her with a raised eyebrow. Her face flushed a little.

"Umm, yeah, but you're still not sleeping here. I'll give you a pillow and you can sleep on the floor. Or why don't you stop being a drama queen - king - and go sleep on the couch."

"Casey, _you_ stop being the drama queen. I'm sleeping in a nice, comfortable bed whether you like it or not," He said, standing up and moving the covers aside. Casey took that chance to plop down where he planned on laying.

"No!" She said, sternly. He shrugged and sat down on top of her.

"As you wish. Although, I think you'd rather not be squished underneath me," He said, turning his head to smirk at her. She scowled back at him, trying to push him off.

"Get off, Derek. It's hard to breathe like this," She said, as he layed back a little, her trying harder to push him off.

"Fine," He said, standing up. She took at deep breath and rolled over to the other side of the bed. He sighed and sat back down.

"I don't think I'll be able to fall alseep knowing that you are right there," She said bitterly as Derek slipped under the covers, turning on his side, facing her.

"You're going to get cold if you don't get under the covers," He said, yawning. She rolled her eyes and ignored his comment. She stared at him with narrow eyes as he stared back in annoyance. He sighed.

"Casey?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She asked bitterly.

"You are not seriously going to sleep in those clothes are you?" He said, pointing at her shirt and jeans. She looked down and sighed. It would be very uncomfortable in her clothes.

"Well, I'm too tired to get up and change. So, yeah, I'm sleeping in them," She said, lifting her head up again and narrowing her eyes at him once again.

"Oh, and Casey?"

"What, Derek?" She asked in annoyance.

"Turn off the lamp."

"Why don't you turn it off?" She asked bitterly.

"Because it's on the bedside table that's on _your_ side," He rolled his eyes at her. She groaned and flipped over, turning off the lamp.

"You'll be cold if you don't get under the covers, Casey," Derek said again, a tone of dissapointment in his voice.

"Whatever," She bit back and shivered. With a sigh, she got under the covers and could imagine Derek smirking. Before she drifted off into unconciousness, Derek's words seem to float into her head. _'One girl.'_

--

Well, tell me what you think. I'll greatly appreciate it! Woooot!


	3. Chapter 3

Okay!! I must give tons and tons of thanks to all of my readers and reviewers (especially the reviewers!). You make me happy! So, I'm trying to slow down the story a bit because I feel like I've rushed into the Dasey a little. Gosh, I do that too often. I need to stop, rewind, erase, do-over. Yep. Well, enough of my self-destructing ranting, please continue! And please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek. -sniff-

--

Casey yawned and scooted closer into the warm body laying next to her. The warm body's arms wrapped tighter around her. Then, she thought, 'Wait! Why is there someone laying next to me, hugging me?' Her eyes shot open to be greeted with a shirt-covered chest. She looked up to see the face that was connected to the warm body. She stared in horror as she recongnized the face. Derek's face.

She tried to pull back, too horrified and in shock to make any noise. Derek moaned and pulled her closer. She grunted and pushed against his chest with her hands. Derek moaned again and his eyes fluttered open, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He glanced down at Casey who was looking up at him, still in shock and horror. His own look of horror plastered to his face as he jumped back and fell off the bed.

Casey layed where she was at and Derek slowly stood up, both staring at each other, mouths agape. The silence was very awkward and heavy.

"This never happened," Derek stated, putting on a face of clamness even though he was panicking on the inside. Casey nodded and sat up, putting on the same look, but how could she forget what had just happened? That's it: she couldn't forget, but she could certaintly pretend to forget it and not mention it to anyone.

Derek sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. He turned and walked to the dresser, shaking his head. Casey stretched, pretending to be very clam, but jumped a little when there was a knock on the door.

"Casey?" Nora's voice called through the door. Then, without an answer, she opened the door and stood there in shock.

"Derek? Casey?" Nora said in surprise and glanced at the tangled mess of sheets on the bed, then to Casey to Derek and back to Casey, her mouth hanging open.

"H-hey, Mom," Casey stuttered.

"Why was Derek in here?" Nora asked, suddenly curious, walking into the bedroom and closing the door behind her, leaning up against with her arms crossed over her chest. Casey looked over at Derek in confusion then back at her mother. Derek grinned sheepishly at Nora then averted his gaze to the dresser.

"D-didn't you guys turn Derek's bedroom into an office for George?" Casey asked in confusion, again glancing over at Derek then back at her mother.

"Umm, no. It's the same, old room. Wait. Derek-" Nora said turning to him, but he cut her off.

"You know, I really need to take a shower. Bye!" He said, trying to get past Nora and walk out the door. No such luck for him. Nora pushed him back and he whistled innocently, staring up at the ceiling.

"Derek? Why did you lie to Casey? Saying that we made your bedroom into an office?" Nora asked suspiciously, pushing herself off of the door and taking a step towards him.

"Oh, what?" He said, putting his hand to his ear then dropping it. "I think dad's calling me. Better get going!" He said, making a break for the door again. Nora pushed him aside and glared at him.

"George is still asleep," She stated as Casey continued glaring at Derek, anger bubbling inside her.

"Oh, really?" He said sheepishly. "That must have been Edwin calling me. They sound quite alike now." He said, making another attempt to get out the door. Nora pushed him away again and continued glaring.

"Edwin's in the shower. Why would he be calling you from the shower?" Nora asked, still suspicious as to why he lied to Casey.

"Oh, then...it must have been...bye!" He said, running towards the door, finally getting passed Nora and running out once he thrust it open. Nora stared at where Derek had left in shock, then turned back to Casey who was all red in the face from anger.

"You didn't really know, did you?" Nora asked.

"De-_rek_!" Casey's scream echoed through the house as she ran out the door after him. Nora shrugged and stood there.

"Guess not," She mumbled to herself, then finally walking out, closing the door behind her.

"Derek?! Where are you? You can run, but you can't hide! I will find you!" Casey screamed as Marti and Lizzie trudged down the stairs, rubbing their eyes.

"Casey? What are you yelling about?" Lizzie asked and Marti nodded.

"Where's Derek? I am _so_ killing him," She said, looking at them.

"Oh, we just saw him run into the games' closet," Marti simply stated, pointing up the stairs with her thumb. Casey bounded up the stairs, pushing Lizzie and Marti aside to get to the games' closet. Once she reached it, she pulled open the door to find a very scared looking Derek sitting on the ground. He jumped at the sight of her and grinned sheepishly.

"Derek," She said darkly, stepping into the closet and pulling the door closed behind her. "What the _hell _is your problem?" She hissed at him as he stood up and backed as far away as he could.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," He shrugged, trying to look innocent. She glowered and pointed a finger at his chest, poking him.

"You know _very damn_ well what I'm talking about," She continued to glare.

"You know, you really shouldn't curse," He said, shaking his head in dissapointment. She pushed him with both of her hands, causing him to bang into the shelf and a _Monopoly_ box fall on top of his head. The monopoly box fell to the ground as he stared at her in horror.

"Violence is not the answer, Case."

"Oh, yeah. Violence is not the answer. It's the question. And the answer is yes," She said darkly, pushing him into the shelf again, this time causing a _Life_ box to fall on top of his head and fall to the ground.

"No, Casey. Calm down," He said, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her.

"Calm down?" She hissed. "Calm down?!" She screeched and Derek winced at the volume.

"Yes. How about we pretend this never happened?" He grinned, moving his arms away and shrugging innocently, nodding and hoping that she would bite the bait.

"No, but we will talk about this later," She hissed and opened the door, stalked out, and slammed the door close behind her, making a wet-haired Edwin Venturi jump in surprise as he exited the bathroom. Inside the closet, Derek sighed and sat back down, putting his head in his hands.

Casey walked down the stairs, huffing and sighing angrilly. She walked in the kitchen and sat down angrilly on a stool. George looked taken aback by Casey's actions and furrowed his eyebrows at her. Then, shaking his head and deciding he was better off not getting involved, he turned back to the eggs he was scrambling.

George could hear Casey mumble things to herself and when he turned around once again to see what was her problem, it took all his might not to burst out in laughter at the faces that Casey was making at the island countertop. She looked like she was trying to burn a whole into the counter using only her eyes.

To George, it seemed that if she stayed there long enough with that glare, she might actually achieve in burning a whole in the counter. George looked between Edwin and Lizzie, who were currently sitting across from Casey. Lizzie looked very scared, while Edwin looked slightly amused.

Marti seemed to be oblivious to Casey's crazy actions and was busy shoving soggy cereal in her mouth in a concerningly rapid pace. If she didn't slow down, she might end up choking on the cereal. Thank God it was soggy and went down easily, though.

George sniffed at the air when something strange that smelled like smoke lifted around his breathing space. He continued sniffing when Marti, Edwin, and Lizzie looked at him in horror.

"Dad!" Marti shouted, pointed at the pan full of eggs.

"The eggs!" Edwin shouted. George turned and looked down at the eggs that were very black and emmiting a foul smoke.

"Oh my God!" George yelled and grabbed a kitchen, hand towel, and proceeded in trying to clear the smoke. At the sound of beeping from the smoke alarm, Nora ran into the kitchen from her bedroom in the basement and Derek appeared in the kitchen, laughing when he realized that his father had caused the rukus.

Lizzie grabbed a hand towel and ran over to the smoke alarm and waved the towel in front of it, trying to clear the smoke so the alarm would stop emmitting the ever-annoying beeping sound. The beeping stopped and Lizzie sighed in relief. Marti started laughing along with Derek. Edwin continued to stare in shock at the burnt eggs.

"My eggs!" He shouted. George slumped back against the counter as Nora walked over to him, rubbing his arm reassuringly.

"Oh, Georgie. We all know it was an accident," She said.

"I know," George said, hanging his head in shame at his own stupidity.

The only person who seemed to be not caught up in the eggs fiasco was Casey. She still sat in the same place, still saying complete nonsense, and making faces and glaring at the island countertop. Nora looked at her eldest daughter in concern and walked over to her.

"Casey? Casey? Casey, honey!" Nora said, shaking her shoulder. Finally, Casey looked up in surprise and around at the smoke, a look of horror on her face.

"What happened in here?" She asked.

"Honey, you were here the whole time. George burned the eggs," Nora said and at the mention of eggs, Edwin let out a over-dramatic wail of heartache. Marti and Derek sooned stopped laughing and Marti continued in shoving her cereal in her mouth, while Derek sat down at the island on a stool between Casey and Marti.

Lizzie sighed in relief again, sitting back down next to Edwin, who had his head down on the countertop and kept muttering "Why?" George sighed and threw the eggs out in the garbage can, throwing the pan in the sink afterwards. Geroge leaned against the countertop by the sink and rubbed his forehead.

"So...no eggs?" Nora asked after a long silence. It recieved a groan from everyone in the kitchen, especially Edwin. He seemed really upset by the loss of his eggs.

"Okay, well, how about we just have cereal? Marti seemed to have the right idea," Nora said and Marti looked up at her, smiling, getting up, and putting her bowl into the sink with the burnt egg pan. Nora reached into the pantry and pulled out the cereal boxes. She retrieved some bowls from the cupboard and the jug of milk from the fridge. She sat the items on the countertop, then turned and got enough spoons, sitting them down as well, smiling at each of them.

"You know what, Mom? I'm not that hungry," Casey said, getting up.

"Why?" Nora asked, thoroughly confused, then shot a look at Derek. "Derek, did you explain or even give an apology to Casey?"

"You know what, Mother? I don't need to hear it. Derek is an insensitive jerk that just likes to mess with my head," Casey hissed. "Nothing happened. How about that? Nothing happened!" She said, throwing her hands into the air and walking out of the kitchen. Derek walked after and and got in her way.

"Casey, you know very well what happened. You can't ignore it," Derek said sternly and suddenly everyone was quite interested in was exactly _had_ happened.

"You said it yourself, Derek, this didn't happen," She hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"Casey, you can't deny it, okay? Look, okay? What happened, happened and maybe we regret it, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it," Derek said. The others on the sidelines looked at them in surprise. Derek was not exactly explaining things well and made it sound worse than what had really happened.

"Whatever, Derek," She said, looking at the ground, losing all hope of getting past him.

"Hey, you didn't exactly pull away, did you?" Derek said. Everyone's, except Casey and Derek's, eyebrows shot up at this, stunned at the possibilities of what possibly had happened.

"Hey, I did pull away, Derek! I tried to shove you off of me. But, your arms just kept pulling me tighter to you!" She exclaimed. At this, George caught Nora as she fainted, Edwin and Lizzie exchanged bug-eyed glances, and Marti let out a catcall that Derek and Casey ignored.

"Hey! I was half-asleep! I didn't know it was you that I was hugging. I just felt a nice, warm, woman-like body and hugged it as if it were a teddy bear! It wasn't my fault that my half-asleep ass didn't want to let go!" Derek yelled. Nora was starting to wake up a little and George was trying to reassure her that everything was perfectly fine.

"But, it was your fault that you lied to me about Mom and George making your room into an office! You just wanted to sleep with me!" Casey shouted. Nora fainted once again into George's arms - he nearly fainted as well - Edwin and Lizzie choked on invisible air, and Marti stood, shocked and mouth hanging wide open.

"So, what if I did?!" Derek shouted back.

"Why did I even bother coming here?! Why did I even consider moving back here? I must have been out of my mind! I am going back home," Casey said, running past Derek and up the stairs to her old bedroom, now guest bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

So, I love all of you! You guys make me so happy with your reviews!! Yay for chapter 4. I actually think this story is going to be short. Wow. I'm going to try to drag it out and if that makes it boring, then please tell me! It's probably going to get a bit angsty, but I didn't really plan on that happening...but, oh well, it helps me with not getting stuck. I'm going to go with the flow and try to keep the angst time short and it will end with a happy ending! I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't do that. Well, enough of my blabbing, read on!

P.S. - I was listening to Thinking Out Loud by Lesley Roy during this whole chapter, so I was inspired by the song a little.

P.S.S. - It might get a little dramatic, but we all know Casey over-reacts to some things.

Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek. -sniff-

--

Casey hurriedly grabbed her bags and pulled them out the front door, all the while on the verge of tears. The rest of her family had tried to convince her to stay, but it seems that their efforts would not work. Casey had made up her mind. She was going back home.

_'I'm completely insane for thinking that I could just move back here and, and,'_ Casey thought, trailing off and thinking of the certain someone who had caused her to leave in such a hurry.

Casey thrust her bags in the trunk of the cab as Lizzie, Marti, and her mother huddled near her, sniffling. George hugged Nora reassuringly. Edwin rubbed Lizzie's arm and kept whispering, "It will be alright. She'll visit." in Lizzie's ear. Derek was not there, however.

Casey sighed, straightened up, and slammed the trunk close, causing insults to be thrown at her by the cab driver.

"Casey!" Casey turned at the familiar voice and saw Derek running out of the house and towards her. "Hold on, Casey, just think about this."

"I've already thought about it, Derek. Don't tell me to hold on. I'm not holding on any longer," Casey said and angrilly got into the cab, closed the door, and told the cab driver to take her to the airport.

Casey stared at the back of the passenger seat the whole way there, trying to figure out what she was feeling. She didn't know. She couldn't figure out if she was mad, sad, regretfull. It couldn't register in her mind.

Casey didn't realize that she was at the airport until the cab driver turned around in his seat to face her and say, "Hey, young lady. We're here. I'm not trying to be nosy or anything, but are you sure you want to leave? Those people seemed rather upset, especially the one that looked your age. He looked genuinely heartbroken. I'm just sayi-"

"Listen, it's none of your business. I'm not trying to be rude, but I'd just rather not talk about it," With that, Casey gave the cab driver the money and stepped out, got her bags from the back, and proceded and trying to haul them into the airport.

Casey's urge to cry had diminished amazingly. She stared blankly at the seat in front of her. She had already boarded the air plane and the lady at the front of the cabin was instructing on how to put on the air mask. Casey was feeling utterly nothing.

Nothing at all. She felt numb inside and out. Her face showed it, too. Her eyes drooped a little and her mouth was in a thin, tight line. She turned her head slowly and stared out the window at the ground that was moving downwards at a fast rate.

She closed the panel of the window soundlessly, but continued to stare at it. Turning towards her purse in her lap, she decided on reading. She retrieved her favorite book from her purse: Pride and Prejudice. She opened it to the beginning and tried to read it.

Her eyes scanned word after word, but none of it was processing. Time flew by and soon the plane was landing and she closed the book and put it back in her purse. She waited silently for that jolt that signals the plane has landed. The jolt came and so did one inside of Casey.

Her breathing became jagged and tears brimmed her eyes. She clutched her chest and gasped for air, blinking away the tears that threatened to pour over. She stood up, trying to keep her balance, and walked out of the plane and towards the gates. Through the gates, breathing became harder as she tried to walk to the baggage claim.

Her mind was completely blank and she didn't know what was happening. She stumbled to the baggage claim and found her bags, picking them up and attempting to haul them outside and hail a cab.

The cab pulled up and she took in sharp breaths, trying to keep her self steady. She blinked rapidly and rythmically, thrusting her bags into the trunk and closing it and hopping inside. The cab driver looked at her suspciously before shrugging it off and asking where to.

She looked at him and her mouth opened and closed several times. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth once more, telling him her address. The cab driver shot her another suspicious, yet worried, look, then drove off.

Casey turned to the window and stared at it, breathing through her nose and out her mouth. Her chest started to hurt. As if someone had ripped her open, took something out, and left her there, not bothering to return what they had took or stitch her back up.

Her shaky, clammy hand closed around the door handle and she opened the door, turning towards the cab driver, handing him money, and stepping out and staring up at her apartment. She retrieved her bags from the trunk and walked slowly towards the door.

Her hand shakily put the key into keyhole of her doorknob and turned it, opening up her door, throwing her bags inside, and closing the door behind her. She stared around her. Her familiar apartment looked like someone else's now.

She clutched her chest again as her breathing became sharp and ragged again. She sank to the floor and curled up in a ball on the floor. The tears poured out of her eyes as her phone rang echoingly through the house.

She heard the answering machine beep and her mother's voice came on, "Casey? You should be home by now, right? Well, maybe it's taking you a little longer with traffic. Well, please call me when you get home. I love you, Casey. Oh and Derek wants to talk to you. Here he is." Casey heard a scruffling noise and then Derek's voice came on.

Casey clamped her eyes shut tightly as Derek's voice echoed tauntingly to her, "Casey? Case, you didn't have to leave. Why'd you leave, Case? You didn't have to. Listen, I-I'm sor-" The answering machine cut his voice off and Casey sobbed even more.

The hole in her chest burned around the edges, threatening to rip open even more. Casey felt a jolt of pain rush through her and then nothing. Her tears stopped and she felt numb. She pulled her legs tighter towards her and drifted to sleep.

--

Derek paced his room rapidly. _'What the hell did you do, Derek? You idiot!'_ Derek thought, smacking the side of his head. He collapsed against his closed door and dropped his head in between his knees.

_'Derek, get a hold of yourself. It's just Casey. She's left before,'_ Derek told himself, then spoke out loud, "So, why is this different?" Derek slammed his head against his door and gripped his hair, pulling it slightly.

He stood up suddenly and attempted to be cheerful. "Nothing is different. You're fine, Derek. You're The Derek Venturi. Go and be the guy you always have been," Derek pep-talked himself and headed out of his bedroom, putting on a fake smile.

-- **2 months later**

"Shakespeare is one of the most amazing writers ever. He has coined over 100 words. Today, we are going to be reading Romeo and Juliet," Casey told her class from the front of the room, showing a copy of Romeo and Juliet to her students.

The students eyed her suspiciously. Something seemed to be off about her. She was always full of joy and had a smile planted on her face. Well, she did have a smile planted on her face now, but it seemed forced, tight, wrong.

Casey hurriedly handed out copies of the play and returned to the front of the class. She went on about the play, explaining certain aspects of it and the meaning of it.

The bell rang, making Casey jump and the students rush out of the classroom and to lunch. Casey sighed and her smile dropped, then came back to her face. She grabbed her lunch and went to the teacher's lounge.

Casey sat down at her usual table with some other teachers and stared at her Pride and Prejudice book. She brought the book to work everyday for the past two months, but was still on the first page.

Casey opened the book and her eyes fell on the words, not exactly taking them in, but just staring and trying to comprehend.

The other teachers shot glances at her, wondering when she would actually go back to talking and eating during lunch, instead of staring at her book. _'I wonder what happened to her to make her this way,'_ Cindy Martin, the seventh grade math teacher, thought.

Casey looked up when the bell rang, signalling her to go back to her classroom. For her, time seemed to fly by so quickly. She shoved the book in her purse and walked back to her class.

She entered the class to find her students already seated. She smiled at them. A knock sounded on the door and then the door opened, revealing the principal and a boy.

"Ms. McDonald, you have a new student here from London," Mrs. Geeves smiled at the boy, looking back up to Casey and urging the boy towards her. A jolt went through Casey's chest at the word 'London' and her smile twitched down a little. Mrs. Geeves left the classroom, closing the door behind her.

"Hello, I'm Ms. McDonald. What is your name?" Casey asked the boy. The boy smiled brightly up at her.

"Derek!" He exclaimed as Casey's smile fell completely and her breathing became jagged.

"D-D-Der-Derek?" Casey asked unsurely, blinking away very unfamiliar tears. She breathed in and out quickly. The hole in her chest from 2 months ago returned and burned at the edges.

"Yes. My name is Derek," He said, his smile fading at the horrified look on Casey's face. Her breath left her quickly and she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She blinked rapidly to clear the brimming tears. The hole in her chest ripped open more. She put one hand on her desk to steady her and with her other, she clutched her chest.

She looked away from the boy to the ground. Her eyes were wide and blinking as she tried to control her breathing. Hyperventalation took over her as her body began to shake and some students jumped up and rushed to her side.

"Ms. McDonald? Are you okay? Ms. McDonald?!" Lena asked her. Other students nodded for Casey's answer. She continued to stare at the ground and shook her head slowly.

"Derek," Casey breathed out in a whisper. As soon as the words poured from her lips, she couldn't control her tears any longer. They spilled over as she collapsed to the ground. The students stared in shock.

"Ryan! Go get Mrs. Geeves!" Mary shouted to Ryan who was standing a couple feet away from her. He ran out of the room and was soon back with Mrs. Geeves in tow, a worried expression plastered on her face.

Casey gasped for air as her crying became sobbing. "Derek!" She screamed loudly, clutching her chest with one hand and the ground with another.

"Ms. McDonald! Are you okay?" Mrs. Geeves asked, running over to Casey's side.

"Derek!" She screamed once more, her sobs shaking her body.

"Derek? What did he do?" Mrs. Geeves asked, thoroughly confused.

"Call," She gasped for more air. "him."

"Wait. Don't you have a step-brother named Derek? Is that who you want?" Mrs. Geeves asked. Casey nodded her head furiously and pointed to her purse.

"Phone!" She shouted. "Call." Mrs. Geeves nodded and grabbed Casey's purse, going through it in search of Casey's cell phone. She found it and pulled it out, going through the phone book, and finding the number. She impatiently waited for someone to pick up and finally someone did: Derek.

"Hello? Casey?!" Derek asked excitedly.

"Is this Derek?" Mrs. Geeves asked.

"Yes," He said slowly, wondering who was on Casey's cell phone.

"This is Linda Geeves from the middle school Casey works at. She broke down. I think it's a panic attack. She looks like she's gasping for air and she's clutching her chest and screaming your name," Mrs. Geeves said in a hurry, using only one breath.

"Oh my God, Casey! Can I talk to her?" Derek asked frantically.

"Derek!" Casey screamed again, her sobs not retreating.

"Casey? Is that Casey?" Derek asked in worry.

"Yes, yes, that's her. I'll see if she can talk and maybe you can calm her down, but if you can't, I need to call the hospital to get them over here," Mrs. Geeves said, bending down by Casey.

"Casey? It's Derek. Can you talk?" Mrs. Geeves asked Casey, slowly handing the cell phone towards her. Casey grabbed it frantically and held it close to her ear.

"D-D-Derek?" Casey choked out and gasped for another breath of air.

"Oh, Casey. Calm down. You need to calm down, okay? If you don't, you might need to go to the hospital. In fact, I think it's best that you do," Derek said. Casey's eyes widened at Derek's voice, having not heard it in a long time.

"Casey, you need to hand the phone back to Mrs. Geeves," Derek said calmly. Not wanting to disobey him, Casey handed the phone back to Mrs. Geeves, staring at it. Mrs. Geeves took the phone and nodded into it, Casey's sobbing slowed a little, but her body still shook.

Mrs. Geeves hung up and dialed the hospital. Casey clutched her chest more, wanting to hear Derek's voice again. She had an overwhelming urge to hear him, see him, hug him and not let go.

Paramedics arrived shortly after and hauled Casey onto a stretcher and carried her into an ambulence. Casey stared at the inside metal top and kept repeating, "Derek."

Once at the hospital, they strolled her to the emergency room and fed her air, others checking her to see what happened. One left to phone her parents after getting her identification.

One leaned over, removing her mask, and asked her sternly, "Are you okay? Can you tell me what happened?"

"Derek," She whispered.

--

Yeah, that was an extremely angsty chapter. I don't usually do angst. This is odd. Well, I hope you don't mind it too much. After writing this, I formed big plans. Big plans...Please review!!


	5. Chapter 5

Okay!! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I really do love you guys! You make me really happy. I'm still trying to decide if it's better for me to wrap it up pretty soon or if I really should just drag it out. I'm not sure. Well, back to the story.

P.S. - I keep listening Thinking Out Loud by Lesley Roy, so I guess you could say she's my inspiration.

Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek. -sniff-

--

"Casey!" Nora exclaimed, running to her daughter's hospital bedside and grabbing her into a hug. "I came as soon as I heard from Derek and got the call from the hospital. They said they wanted to keep you here until a family member came. How are you?"

"I'm fine, mother," Casey nodded. "I just...I don't know."

"Do you know what the panic attack was caused by?" Nora asked.

"No clue, but if you ask, I'm sure they'd tell you," Casey shrugged.

"Okay, well, I'll just go and ask t-oh! Wait, he's here. Nevermind," Nora said, noticing the doctor that was entering the room. She walked to the doctor and he nodded at her.

"Mrs. McDonald, I presume. I'm Dr. Roberts," Dr. Roberts said, shaking Nora's hand.

"Yes, I'm Nora. Umm, what caused my daughter to have the panic attack?" Nora asked in concern.

"Well, there were three causes. One, overexertion, two, stress, and three, starvation," Dr. Roberts nodded at Nora's shocked face and led her to Casey's bed.

"Starvation?" Nora asked in disbelief, glancing from Casey to the doctor. Casey was just as surprised as her mother. She thought that she had been eating prefectly fine. Of course, that most definitely was not the case.

"Yes, starvation. She's not deathly ill and she doesn't appear to have anorexia. She is a bit underweight, though. It would be good for her to gain some weight. She probably hasn't been eating much lately due to the stress that she was apparently under," Dr. Roberts informed Nora, glancing between her and Casey and back again.

"Oh, okay," Nora said, shooting a glance at Casey, then returning to look at Dr. Roberts.

"Now, that you are here and everything, Casey is free to check out. Make sure she gets a lot of rest and you may want to try to get her relaxed and make sure she's eating healthy," Dr. Roberts smiled and Nora shook her head. Dr. Roberts left the room as Casey got out of the bed and headed towards her clothes that were sitting in a chair nearby.

"Starvation, Casey? Really, what is going on?" Nora asked in concern. "I'm shocked. Do you think you need to lose weight or something, honey? You look perfectly fine."

"Mom, I'm just as surprised as you are. I didn't realize that I haven't been eating as often. Now, I'm going to change and we can get out of here," Casey said, turning to look at her mother before going to the bathroom to change.

Nora sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to get rid of her migrane. Casey emerged from the bathroom and walked to her mother, lacing her hand in hers and dragging her to the elevators.

They stepped into the elevator and waited silently for it to come to a stop. The doors slowly opened and Nora and Casey walked out and towards the receptionists' desk. They checked out and went out and hailed a cab to take them to Casey's.

The cab arrived shortly at Casey's appartment and Nora helped Casey out of the car, afraid she'll go into another panic attack. They walked silently to the appartment door and Casey retrieved her key to open the door.

They stepped inside and Nora sighed. Nora turned to Casey.

"Casey, I want you to come home," Nora said calmly.

"Home? I-," Casey said.

"Listen, I really need you to come home so I can look after you for a while, to make sure you really are okay, okay?" Nora said, taking Casey's hands in her's and squeezing them in a comforting way. Casey pulled her mother into a hug and nodded.

"Okay," She sighed.

--

"Casey!" Marti and Lizzie screamed at the same time with excitement when Casey entered the front door with Nora in tow, carrying Casey's bags. Casey ran over to them and pulled them in a hug.

"Casey, are you alright?" Marti asked, her face plastered with true worry.

"Yeah, Casey, I heard you had a panic attack," Lizzie said with the same expression as Marti. Casey smiled down at them and hugged them tighter.

"I'm fine, you guys," She said reassuringly.

"Hey, Case, are you okay. I heard about the panic attack thing," Edwin said, coming out from the kitchen with George behind him.

"Casey, are you alright?" George asked, coming and standing beside her, rubbing her back. Casey stepped away from Marti and Lizzie and hugged Edwin then George. She smiled at them.

"I'm fine, okay?" Casey said, then her smile dropped. "Where's Derek?" Nora - who had dropped her bags by the stairs and came to stand beside her - grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Everyone's smiles dropped from their faces.

"It's been terrible, Casey!" Marti exclaimed.

"It really hasn't been the same," Lizzie said and Edwin nodded in agreement.

"What?" Casey asked, confused.

"Casey, Derek has been a little depressed since you left. He's been sleeping all day long. You should probably go upstairs and wake him. I bet he'll be thrilled to see you," Nora said, nudging Casey towards the stairs, George nodding from behind Nora. Casey nodded and walked up the stairs to Derek's room.

She approached his door cautiously and knocked lightly. There was no answer. She opened the door slowly and poked her head in. She saw Derek lying on his bed, curled up in a ball, his eyes closed and eyebrows scunched together. She walked in and closed the door behind her before walking to his bedside.

She laid a careful hand on his arm and leaned down.

"Derek," She whispered. There was no answer. "Derek," She said a little louder, shaking him a little. "Oh, come on, Derek!" She screeched and shook him hard. He sat up quickly, eyes wide, and turned his head to her, a smile forming on his face at the sight.

"Casey!" He excitedly exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. She tensed up at his arms around her and pulled away to look at his face.

"You're...hugging me," She said carefully.

"Of course! I missed you!" He said, pulling her into him. She pulled back again and stared in shock.

"And...you just said something with _feeling_," she said in shock. He pulled her back into the hug again and rocked back and forth.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," He said, smiling into her hair. She pulled all the way back and stood up. He looked up at her in sadness.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done to the _real_ Derek Venturi?" She asked. He laughed and stood up.

"I am the 'real Derek Venturi'," He said. "Just more mature. I thought that I would lose you," He whispered, looking down at his feet.

"Oh, Derek," She said, pulling him into a hug. He hugged her back and then she abruptly pulled away.

"But, you still never told me why you lied to me about your room. Looks the same to me," She said, eyebrows furrowing as he smiled sheepishly.

"I thought we said that we were going to forget that that ever happened."

"Whatever, Venturi. Come on, let's go downstairs before my parents think I went insane again," She said, chuckling, but stopped when Derek's hand latched onto her wrist.

"Are you alright? I know you had a panic attack, but _why_?" He asked in concern. She frowned and pulled her arm away.

"I'm sure my mother or George will enlighten you on that. I don't really want to talk about it," She said, walking out of his door and down the stairs with Derek following behind her. Once she reached the landing, 5 heads jerked towards her, 4 of them looking very shocked and the other sad. Marti ran towards Casey and pulled her into a hug.

"Casey, you're not fat! Don't go anorexic," She shouted, looking up at her, while Casey stared down in shock. Derek froze and turned slowly towards her in shock.

"Umm, Marti, I'm not going anorexic and I don't think I'm fat. Don't worry," Casey said, rubbing Marti's head, then pulling away from her.

"Then, why did you stop eating?" Lizzie asked, walking over to stand next to Marti.

"Stop eating?" Derek echoed, still staring at Casey in shock.

"Look, I didn't realize that I had stopped eating, okay? I'm just fine," She said, getting a little frustrated.

"Are you sure, honey?" Nora asked, walking over to stand by Marti as well. "We can take you to a doctor or something, you know."

"I'm fine," She said through gritted teeth, her hands curling into fists.

"Anorexic?" Derek echoed, still in shock. "Casey, listen. You're not fat, no matter what anyone tells you, okay? Wait, did someone tell you you're fat? I can do something about that, you know. Casey, are you alright?" Derek asked, looking worried and desperate at the same time. She turned towards him, her face getting red with anger.

"Listen! I'm perfectly fine, alright?!" Casey screamed and everyone nodded their heads quickly in response, all looking terrified.

"So," Nora said, clapping her hands together after a few minutes. "How about we eat dinner?" Everyone nodded stiffly and muttered some yeah's.

"I fixed your favorite, Casey," Nora said, leading her to the table once she had everything set up. "Tofu."

"Thanks, mom," Casey said, smiling at her mother and sitting down where she once sat as a teenager. "Wow, this brings back memories," She said, gathering some tofu onto her plate.

"It sure does," Marti said, smiling over at her.

"We've missed you so much, Casey," Lizzie said. "Not since you left 2 months ago, but when you left to go to college."

"Yeah, well, you and Edwin are about to head to college," Casey said, shrugging.

"Yeah, this fall," Edwin said through bites of tofu.

"I'm going to be lonely," Marti said, frowning.

"No, you won't. You have Derek and me," Casey said, smiling at her and Marti smiled back.

"Wait, does this mean you're moving back?" Derek asked, mouth full of tofu.

"De-_rek_! Don't talk with you mouth full!" Casey exclaimed, but couldn't help but smile and laugh at him.

"Well, honey, does it mean you're moving back or what?" Nora asked after a sip of her water.

"Yeah," She replied, smiling at the rest of the smiling faces around the table.

"Well, I'm glad," George said, nodding.

"So am I," Nora nodded as well.

--

"Man, I am so tired," Casey said, laying back on her bed. Derek nodded from his position on the other side of the bed by the headboard.

"And full, too," He said, chuckling. She chuckled along with him and rubbed her stomach.

"You're telling me," She said and they were silent for a couple of minutes. "Derek?"

"Yeah, Casey?" He asked, looking over at her. She stared up at the ceiling, the corners of her mouth turning down.

"What happened to us?" She asked.

"What?" He asked, looking down at the bedspread.

"We use to fight and whatnot. Now...something's different. I mean, look at us," she motioned between them, still staring at the ceiling. "We're lying on my bed, having an actual civil conversation and we're _laughing_, too."

"I don't know," Derek said and shrugged even thought he knew very well what was going on. Casey laughed and shook her head.

"Nevermind," She said. "So, how are you and Linda doing?" She asked, looking over at Derek who was still staring at the bedspread.

"We broke up," Derek said.

"What?!" Casey said, jerking up and sitting in front of him. "What? Why?"

"Casey, let's not talk about it."

"No, tell me why you two broke up?" Casey demanded. Derek looked up and Casey couldn't understand the look in his eyes or on his face. It was something she'd never seen before. And he did something he's never done before.

Kiss her.

Casey's eyes grew wide when Derek's lips moved across hers slowly, then fluttered close. She leaned into him and kissed back, wrapping her arms across his shoulders. His arms drapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him, falling backwards on the bed.

Soon, they pulled apart and stared at each other in shock. Casey gulped and blinked.

"Now what?" She asked, her throat dry and scratchy.

--

Please review! I love all of you guys! I'll try to get the next chapter here soon!


	6. Chapter 6

Whoa, I'm having a writers' block here! Well, I'll try to get through this to the best of my ability. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. An extra thanks and virtual Dasey cookie to the ones who have reviewed! You guys just make my day! This is the last chapter. I'm sorry! Really. I'm having so much block that I can't write out the next 9-10 months of their lives, so...oh, just read before I give everything away! Enjoy.

Dislcaimer: I do not own Life with Derek. -sniff-

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"Listen, Casey, can't we just talk about this?" Derek pleaded, following her downstairs. Everyone was out. Marti was next door visiting Dimi, Lizzie and Edwin each had gone to a friend's house, and George and Nora went to work.

"No," she stated sternly.

"Funny. I would usually be the one who would avoid this," Derek said, following her into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"De-_rek_!" She screached, wiggling out of his grasp. "Listen, nothing happened between us, alright?"

"Oh, I think something did happen," Derek said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "I recall you saying my name and pleading and then I also recall waking up beside you. Naked." Casey shot a glare at him. She pointed a finger at his face.

"I said nothing happened, remember?" Casey seethed, then went to get a cup of coffee. She was feeling rather grumpy with Derek.

"You won't be saying that if you end up pregnant," Derek said, his face serious. Casey turned to him in shock. Then, she smacked her head.

"Oh, God. I'm a fucking_ idiot_! Protection, Casey, protection! Why didn't you use it?!" Casey yelled at herself, hitting her head with each word. She glanced down at her stomach and nearly fainted at the thought of holding a fetus there. She propped herself against the island countertop and laid her head on it, loving the coldness against her hot face.

"Casey, I'm serious about this. What if you really do end up pregnant?" Derek asked, a little worried about what their parents would think and say if they found out that Casey was pregnant...with Derek's baby.

"Our parents are going to _kill_ us if that happens!" Casey whined and whimpered.

"No, not exactly. I mean, we're adults. Let's just find some place to stay and make it seem like we didn't have sex under their roof," Derek said, smiling sheepishly at the last bit. It only made Casey groan even more.

"I need to get a job at the middle school here! How am I suppose to teach if I'm pregnant? Besides, we don't even know if I am or not! Is the percentage really that high?" She asked, trying to push all thoughts of that happening out of her head.

"Actually, Case, the percentage is very high and I told you that I'm starting to direct this movie tomorrow. I'll get money from that!" Derek said. Casey stopped for a second. How did she and Derek end up in this situation? If she were told 7 years ago that she might possibly end up pregnant with her step-brother, Derek's baby, she would have laughed. She groaned once more.

"What are we doing, Derek? I just had a nervous breakdown not even 3 days ago and I just had sex with you less than 10 hours ago. I'm just moving here to find another job at the middle school here and I might be _pregnant_. What in the world would my mother and you father say, Derek?" Casey asked quietly.

"Listen, Case, you're smart. The smartest woman I know and we'll figure this out. Our parents don't have to know about _any_thing," Derek said, equally as quiet.

"_For now_," Casey said, glaring at the countertop.

"Stop being so pessimistic. What happened to that optimist that I knew?" Derek said, smiling. She look up at him and smiled a little.

"Okay, well, I guess when you're out directing or whatever, I'll go apartment hunting, okay? Then maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll buy a pregnancy test and whatnot," she smiled just then at the thought of starting a family. She just never expected to start a family with someone _in_ her family. Although, she never thought of Derek as her brother.

"That's my girl!" Derek said cheerfully as Casey glared at him.

"You know, I thought about what you said," Derek said slowly, a smirk reaching his face.

"Oh, God. What part of what I said have you been thinking about?" Casey said, frowning and whimpering.

"The part where you said we had sex less than 10 hours ago. 10 hours seems like an awfully long time, don't you think?" Derek asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Casey glared at him.

"No," she said sternly.

"Aww, why not? You were all up for it last night! Heck, you're the one who jumped me! Now, you don't want anything to do with me. That's hurts, Case. You're such a tease," he said, putting on a face of mock-hurt. Casey raised her eyebrows at him.

"I'm a tease?" Casey asked and laughed when Derek nodded his head, pouting. "Whatever, Derek." She paused for a bit and thought of something. "Derek?"

"Yeah?" He asked, hoping that she would take him up on his earlier offer.

"Well, if I do end up pregnant," she paused, looking up at him and then down at the countertop. "and if I do have the baby," she paused once more. "Are we going to...live together?" She whispered. His face softened and he smiled a little.

"Of course, Case," he whispered back. She smiled then gave him a stern look.

"You're not dating anyone else," she said, shaking her head back and forth. Derek's eyes bugged out.

"We're dating?!" He shrieked.

"Then what are we doing, Derek?" She asked, glaring at him through slitted eyes.

"Well," he started and gulped. "I-uh-if you do end up...pregnant...and have the baby...and we're going to live together..."

"Just say it already, Venturi!" Casey said, getting agitated.

"Okay! Fine! Will you marry me?! You happy now?" Derek asked, screaming and waving his arms in the air. Casey started to tear up. "Casey...don't cry now. Oh, come on, Case. Do you have to cry?" She sniffed and nodded her head.

"No one's ever proposed to me before," she said, crying. Derek put his head in his hands. "Yes." Derek's head shot up and he looked at her.

"Did you just say what I think you just said?" He asked, pointing at her and then smiled when she nodded. His eyes grew wide and he shook his head. "I can't believe it. She actually said yes," Derek whispered to himself in shock.

"So, when can we get married?" Casey asked, her tears gone and now feeling really giddy about having a wedding. "After or before the baby?"

"I thought we said that there might be a chance that there isn't going to be a baby...?" Derek said.

"Well, let's pretend there is. So, before or after?" Casey asked again.

"You're really happy, aren't you?" Derek asked sarcastically.

"I want it to be a big, white wedding. The perfect day! With flowers and crystal glasses and bride's maids. Oh, I bet Lizzie would be thrilled to be the maid of honor!" Casey exclaimed.

"Okay, how about you plan the wedding and come to me if you really need me? In the mean time, you need a ring, apartment, and job," Derek said, chuckling.

"Okay, maybe I'm being a little rediculous. We'll take this slow," Casey said, smiling.

"You call having random sex one night and then talking about marrige less than 10 hours later slow?" Derek asked. Casey frowned at him.

"Whatever," she said. "I just don't know what to do," Casey said, rubbing her forehead.

"Hey, you know what, Case? You take things way too seriously and try to over analyze them. Do me a favor, stop thinking. Just wait and see what happens, alright?" Derek asked, walking over to stand by Casey. Casey looked at him and gave him a questioning look.

"Wait?" She asked skeptically.

"At least try to," he said. She smiled at him and went in for a hug. He backed up.

"Hey, I know you. You're going to hug me, then get all emotional and cry! Not going to happen," he said, laughing. She tried to pout but gave into laughing along with him. Sure, everything hadn't exactly gone according to plan and she ended up going overboard and breaking down, then having sex with her step-brother not long afterwards.

Her sister was right: Drama_ is_ her middle name.

And it turns out, that two months later, after visiting the doctor, she was pregnant after all. Of course, she didn't tell her mom and George yet about that and didn't even dare mention that Derek had bought her a ring and they were getting married in only a month. She didn't want that big, white wedding afterall.

And the wedding was barely a wedding anyways. And the baby? A little girl named Melanie Elizabeth Venturi. In Casey's opinion, it was classy. And of course, she had to tell Nora and George about the baby considering that when Derek had called Nora and George to come to the hospital. Casey had avoided them ever since you could tell that she was pregnant. That was at about 8 months. Pretty long time to show up, but finally she did.

Derek's production of his new movie was going great and he was sure it was going to get big hits and reviews. Casey found a job at Marti's middle school and she hired a nanny for Melanie. Of course, she had to go through so many interviews to find the 'perfect' one, but Derek convinced her that no one is going to be perfect so she settled on the close-to-perfect nanny, Kelsey.

Havoc broke out when George and Nora and, well, everyone else found out who the father was. Nora nearly fainted and George got red in the face and yelled at Derek. Soon, they seemed to accept it and decided to move on and worry about Lizzie and Edwin doing something similiar.

Which, that brings us to Lizzie and Edwin. They were dating. In hiding of course. They didn't dare tell their parents...yet.

George nearly had a heart attack when he saw Dimi and Marti making out on the living room couch, then was excited that he got to have the angry-dad-you-better-not-hurt-my-daughter-or-else-I'll-cause-unimaginable-pain-on-you talk. Dimi was afraid and Marti yelled at him, which caused George to apologize a billion times and walk away in shame with Nora behind him, rubbing his back in comfort.

Turns out, Emily ran into Sheldon at the supermarket and he explained that he moved back into town and she nearly died because of it. Her feelings had never diminished and they had a first date. And a second...and were working on their third.

Derek caughed up his soda when Casey and him were strolling in the park with Melanie and saw his good ol' friends Sam and Ralph walking along, holding hands. _That_ was a big surprise. They decided to veer the other way and they'd catch up with them later and let Sam or Ralph break the news. Less embarrasing that way.

The imaginary dog, Bob, became not so imaginary when Edwin and Lizzie begged for a little pug at the mall. Nora and George caved and Casey was surprised when she visited and found a dog she'd never seen before peeing on Derek's shoe.

Melanie's first birthday was a big hit and by that time, Derek's movie had ceased it's filming and was going to air soon in theaters. Casey quit her job, deciding she'd rather be home with her daughter than have Kelsey - who was actually happy to have been fired, but welcome any time - take care of Melanie.

Everyday, Derek and Casey took Melanie out to the park and sat by the small pond. Casey seemed she had found her happy ending...except, her and Derek still bickered heathily like they did when they were teenagers. Or, maybe they bickered like an old married couple. Seemed like both to them.

--

Well, that was a loooong cap of nearly 2 years. I could have just said, baby born, Sam and Ralph are gay, Lizwin, Shemily, Dimi/Marti, Kelsey hired and fired, the end. But, I guess I didn't. I had the most fun with this story in the cap of 2 years. Odd, huh? Well, please tell me what you think! I'm sorry for ending it without notice!


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